Seize the Night
by SecretJulia123
Summary: When a Strigoi Rose appears at a siege of the Vampire Court, her friends are heartbroken. She is a cruel and heartless creature, wreaking havoc without thought. She is now powerful and uncaring, but Lissa and Dimitri are determined to bring her back from the dark side, even if it means sacrificing others to achieve it and reliving Rose's last moments as a dhampir.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

The attack was over within an hour. The guardians were unable to keep up with the amount of Strigoi—moving like lightning and killing and massacring everything in their way. Inside the court building, about ten of the evil creatures were holding about twenty to thirty hostages, one of them the queen and several guardians. The leader of the pack of Strigoi was named Riles and he believed himself in charge of the group.

Outside, two Strigoi females laughed in the face of death they were causing. The dark-haired one easily flung off a guardian. He collided with the blonde Strigoi, their deathly pale skin chilling in the dark light of night. While they played with him, the first mentioned took pause. She was not surprised, Strigoi felt little emotion, and that was not one. She smiled cruelly, grabbing hold of the dizzy young man. He had brown-black hair and seemed to be about eighteen.

"Hello, Eddie," she whispered in a cool voice, letting her words fall over him. He dragged his eyes up to her face and gasped, not having realized just who he had been fighting. Her eyes were red even in the lack of light. Her grip was like iron and her face like stone. Once lovely and tan, the desert-princess was no longer the dhampir he once knew.

"Rose," he whispered and she dove for his neck, intending to take her once-friend as a prize. Ivy, her companion, tilted her head at the show. She shrugged, uncaring, and let Rose have her fun. Ivy turned away and went to go find her own snack before they met up with Riles and put their plan into effect.

Rose drank heavily from Eddie. He moaned in pleasure, not pain. Rose almost smiled, recalling Spokane when he became a daily blood bank to their Strigoi captives. Now she was the one drinking his blood, which was light and tasty, like an appetizer to the main dish.

That brought her back to reality. She still cradled Eddie in her arms. He was out of it, his closed eyelids fluttering. Rose smiled uncaringly and lifted him over her shoulder with ease. Rose knew that the sight of him unconscious from blood loss would do more than bother her ex-friends and true love.

Meanwhile, Ivy burst through the main doors to the room that Riles was holding all of the captives. Everyone jerked at her sudden arrival and appearance. She was drenched in blood, jeans and t-shirt covered in the red liquid. It smelled beautiful to her. Riles smiled at his sister, the sister that he had turned over two hundred years before, and continued to go round the throne.

The pile of captives were huddled in a circle in the middle of the room and stared at her. A group of Strigoi was around them. They watched Ivy as well, wondering when it would be their time to act.

Queen Tatiana was sitting in her throne, trembling. The fear inside of her was evident and wet Ivy's appetite once again. Riles was resisting, however, and idly touched the side of the queen's face. She didn't flinch, but held absolutely still.

"Where is Rose?" Riles asked Ivy.

Ivy replied in a bored voice, "Playing with some dhampir guardian." Her harsh red eyes glowed like red embers, but a gorgeous Moroi jerked at the thought of Strigoi. Ivy studied her and her lips parted, revealing sharp white fangs. She squatted down so her face was level with the girl. Ivy's chest heaved with excitement of the kill when the girl refused to lose Ivy's gaze. A dark-haired teenage boy next to her was glaring at Ivy, which enraged her.

Ivy said something in a language only Riles knew and he turned, the idea of taking this girl more intriguing than ever. "Find out more."

She had grabbed the boy before anyone could react. He was tall, like most Moroi, and held totally still when Ivy's lips touched his neck. "Ozera," she whispered and he shivered. Ivy bit into his neck, tasting his wild blood.

"No!" screamed Lissa, standing up. The other Strigoi hissed, but Ivy held up a hand to them. She still held Christian, but watched to see what Lissa would do next.

"Dragomir," Ivy said and straightened, taking Christian with her. He groaned, feeling the wound at his neck pull. His eyes fluttered open and he felt suddenly nauseous. "Are you upset?"

"Let him go." Lissa said, clenching her hands.

"Vasilisa Dragomir, my descendent." Ivy said loud enough for her to hear. Lissa studied Ivy as if trying to place her. "Yes, my love, I am Queen Ivy Dragomir, and I am your ancestor. This is my brother, a prince." Riles said nothing.

"Where is Rose?" repeated Lissa, quoting Riles.

"Why do you wish to know, Lissa?" She turned to Christian again and sniffed his neck, licking the two marks on his neck. Ivy gripped him almost sweetly, like a caress.

"So I can change her back."

"That's not possible," said a voice from the doorway. Lissa jerked in horror at the pale pallor of Rose, her ruby eyes, and the way she easily held Eddie on her shoulder. She was even more startled when Rose dropped Eddie on the floor unceremoniously. His head flopped as if boneless and Lissa had to force a sob back into her throat.

Even more shocked than Lissa was the muscled dhampir also in the pile. His hair was dark brown, his eyes dark and endless, and his face showed such hopeless emotion that it could break hearts. He stared at Rose and felt his own heart plummet into his stomach as he stared at the woman he had grown to love so intensely and lose just as they were about to be reunited. Now, seeing her again after his own time as an evil creature of the night, he couldn't move passed the sickening feeling inside of him.

Rose saw him and grinned, showing fangs. She reveled in his obvious discomfort. As a Strigoi, she didn't care about if he was going to die at the thought of her becoming the thing of nightmares. She only wanted to see if she—like he had tried—could make him willingly come back to the land of the undead.

Strigoi loved challenge, and she reveled in this new one.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: From Rose's Point of View

Suddenly, Riles strikes. Tatiana doesn't even see him coming. I feel a sense of malicious joy spread within me at the sight of that bitch queen dying. To prolong death, Riles leaves just a small amount of blood inside and dumps her body on the ground at the feet of her throne. I imagine that her skin is icy cold and her organs are shutting down, unable to pump new blood into the system.

The Strigoi in the room listen to the fading thump in her chest and all grin when it finally falls silent and Queen Tatiana is dead.

I drag my excited gaze from her and focus on Lissa, anger burning inside of me at her beautiful features. She and Ivy are surprisingly similar. They have the same pale hair and glowing jade eyes.

Jack, one of the Strigoi, steps out of the circle and moves towards me. "Well?"

I glare at him. "Well, what?"

"Did you take care of the guardians or did you just play with them?" He motions towards Eddie, still unconscious at my feet. I step over him and stride towards the insolent man. I can't believe he would dare talk to me that way. I also know he is loyal to Riles and must be dispatched before we kill Riles.

I also want to frighten the captives further. Irritated, I back-hand Jack. He flies back into a cluster of chairs. They clatter and fall, creating the only sound in the room. Then, when he doesn't rise to dare speak to me in that way again, I smile darkly. "There might have been some playing involved."

"Especially with that one," offers Ivy, taking mention of Eddie again. She kneels and lets Christian gently fall to the floor. Riles doesn't seem too upset that I shoved his golden boy around, but he does seem interested in the fact that I was having fun without him. "He's been drunk from before."

He says, "It just gets better every day."

"Eddie," murmured a Moroi voice. I look at Lissa again, my red eyes flicking over her face. She is full of sadness, which I don't bother to care about. "Rose, I'm so sorry this happened to you."

I burst into laughter, harsh and cruel, making her flinch. "The only thing you should be sorry for is that it didn't happen to you." My eyes now flash. "I could arrange that."

Lissa cowers in fear.

"Someone from your past, Rose?" Riles asks, coming to my side and wrapping an arm around my waist. Dimitri takes notice of this. I love the thought of causing him pain. Ivy watches this exchange with no emotion. The other Strigoi tense, but I am the only one to notice. I turn towards Riles and let him kiss me; let him slip his slimy tongue in my mouth. Once he is really going and distracted, I clamp my fangs down on his tongue. He screams and I taste dark Strigoi blood.

Riles shoves me backwards, but I regain my footing easily and spit his flesh out on the Moroi and dhampir. "Bitch!"

"Oh, I'm crushed," I joke and crouch close to the ground, waiting for his strike. He comes at me with deadly quickness, but I expect his attack and spin out of the way. Riles is so worked up he is not centered.

Ivy leaps and grabs Riles, knocking him to the ground. They hiss and fight, but Ivy is the more dominate Strigoi. Jack is up again. He comes at me and I almost giggle at his attempt.

Ivy has Riles in a choke hold. "Watch this, love." I say and Riles stares at me. I twist Jack's arm, breaking it and push his cheek into the floor. I step on his skull, relishing in the shriek he gives out until I silence him completely. Blood and brains splatter everywhere.

I nod to Belinda and August. They take Riles from Ivy. "What the fuck are you doing? How dare you? What do you think you are doing?"

"Here is our plan," Ivy says, coming to stand next to me. "Rose and I slowly commandeer the loyalty of your pack over three months, during which Rose creates the perfect siege of the Court. Once we arrive at the Court and dispatch all of the guardians, we use one of the spirit users that we hold captive to turn you, Riles, into a Moroi again."

"Why?" he spits, muscles straining against his shirt.

Ivy continues, "I'm sure you remember, brother, that when you were a Moroi you were a spirit user as well."

"As were you, Ivy!"

Well, that is interesting. When Ivy and I decided what our actions would be, I only thought of the sweet blood that spirit users have. With Lissa and Adrian, each of us would have one pet. Ivy, bent on the destruction of her brother, told me of his element and swore that if I helped her turn him back, I could have both Lissa and Adrian as pets.

She ignores him. "You turned me unwillingly. I was queen. I was power. I was everything and you took that away from me. Now I get my own revenge." Ivy looks at Lissa. "You will do."

"Not her." I say. Lissa jerks up in surprise. "Adrian."

He has not moved this entire time, but I can tell he is disgusted. Even better. Ivy jerks him to his feet. Adrian is no match for either of us. To mess with him, I tilt my head and study his handsome features.

Finally, I move towards Eddie. His stake is in his coat pocket. I shred Eddie's shirt and carefully wrap it in the material so I don't have to touch the silver. I hand it to Adrian.

"Aren't you afraid I'll use it on you?" Adrian asks, glancing at me.

I scoff. "I'd like to see you try." When he doesn't answer, I continue, "Do it now."

Adrian says, "I don't know how to enlace it with Spirit."

Ivy strokes her fingers down his neck and whispers in his ear, "You better figure it out."

He shivers and I turn towards the tall windows. It is only a couple of hours from sunrise. We must depart within one to reach safety before the sun is at full blaze.

Riles growls at me, "Why are you doing this, Rose? I am your maker, your creator. You serve me."

I roll my eyes and yawn as if bored. "Of course, master."

He hisses at my sarcasm, struggling against Belinda. She glances at me, awaiting my orders. Hm. _My _orders. I study Ivy. She is stronger, faster, and smarter than me. Riles would be easy to beat in a fight, even as a Strigoi. Ivy is also a spirit user, so her blood would be just as satisfying as his would be. A new plan slowly forms in my mind.

Adrian is taking too long. Enraged, I grab a random Moroi from the circle and smile when I realize it is Mia. Adrian gasps. "Every minute you don't stake Riles is a life I take." I bend Mia's trembling face back and take a bite, tasting her blood. It has substance and is much darker than Eddie's was.

"WAIT!" screams Adrian and I glance up to see he has finished with the stake. I grin and hand Mia over to another Strigoi. I can see he is tempted to finish her off, but he hasn't received any order from me.

"Good,"

We move towards Riles. He is snarling and struggling, his face contorted in rage and hatred. Ivy seems excited by his fight. I take Adrian's shoulders and lean in close. "Aim right in the middle of his chest. Imagine pushing his muscle and ribs out of the way. See his heart and stab it." He is breathing hard and I listen to his thump, thump, thump.

Ivy is in just the right position. Adrian rests the stake against Riles, his hands shaking. I guide his hand, placing mine over his. He moves back as if to strike and I jerk him towards Ivy. She cries out as Adrian's stake embeds itself in her chest.

Blinding light erupts from somewhere within the room. I fall back against the ground, white dots dancing across my vision.

That's when the guardians begin their second defense.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The light stops and the Strigoi are still reeling from their sudden blindness. I look down and see Lissa sitting; Dimitri—dhampir Dimitri—has his head in her lap. They look beautiful and pure. I can't believe this worked. Other guardians are staring as well, but we take this time to dispatch as many Strigoi as we can. My silver stake flashes and I stab a female nearest me.

She falls, dead, and I move towards Lissa. She is stroking Dimitri's hair and barely notices my approach. "We need to leave. _Now._" I say urgently and she finally stirs. I grab her arm and she holds onto Dimitri. We race towards the door that leads to our escape.

A male Strigoi blocks my path, his red eyes flashing. I shove him backwards and stake him. He gasps, startled, and collapses on the ground. The three of us continue out until we are outside. I push Lissa and Dimitri into the nearest SUV. The rest of the guardians are following.

Eddie races to my side. "We're retreating. Another pack has shown up. They think it's separate from this one."

I turn to look at Dimitri. He is staring at me, as if he isn't sure what he's seeing. Lissa is watching me as well, leaning around Dimitri to see what is happening. I swallow.

I didn't think then that I would ever see them again.

* * *

My back is against the blood-stained wood floors and I can't see anything. I don't panic, but I'm angry at my lack of sight. Someone grabs my wrist and their skin is warm, so I strike out and knock them away from me.

Standing, I hold my eyes and start towards the direction I believe is my exit. Strong arms close over my shoulders. I hiss and lean towards their neck, ready to bite, but he spins me around so my back is against his chest. I know it is Dimitri because he is the only one that would touch me this way. Even though I'm blinded, I'm still superior.

"Lissa!" yells Dimitri in my ear. No.

I elbow him and hook my leg around his, knocking him off balance. I punch his face but hit his chin. Still, it catches him by surprise. I push him away from me and look for Riles. Blurry shapes move everywhere. Dimitri grabs me again.

I growl and shake his hand off. Riles needs to be my top priority.

"Oh, Rose," I hear his taunting tone, egging me on. He can't see either, I remind myself. I zero in on his position and leap, Dimitri's fingers just missing my wrist. I knock Riles beneath me. He yelps in outrage and tries to crawl out from underneath me. I hit him blindly and take his head between my hands.

With a hard wrench, I rip his head from his neck and feel his black blood splatter all over my face and arms. I toss it away and stand. It's over.

Sounds of battle reach my ears. My eye sight is returning. I can barely see Ivy. She is wrapped in Adrian's arms and I think I see tears streaking her face. Ridiculous. As I'm about to go grab her, Dimitri steps in front of me.

Glaring, I clench my fingers. Belinda is dead and August is fighting to survive with a dark-haired guardian. I smile at Dimitri, showing fang. "Will you hunt me down, Dimitri?"

"I swore I would." He says seriously, his expression morose. His stake glints.

"Then I should see you soon." With that, I spin around and sprint towards one of the tall windows leading outside. Seeing my retreat, the rest of the surviving Strigoi follow. We smash into the glass, cutting our skin and faces. We hit the ground and absorb the stress in our legs. Then we run, blurring, towards our escape route.

The next night, we continue to get further away from the Court, feeding on the humans in a surrounding town. We are careful not to kill in case the guardians try to follow. I am now the leader of our pack, which is just about the only thing I accomplished during the siege.

My fury envelopes me. The only thing I accomplished was turning Ivy back into a damned Spirit user. Riles is dead. Still, my throat burns at the thought of the spirit blood I lost. For some odd reason, I'm reminded of Sonya Karp. Still, even if I wanted her blood, I'd need another Spirit user to change her.

But I also know that Dimitri will come after me, probably soon so I don't get too far away. And, without a doubt, Lissa will want to come with him. He can fight her and tell her no all he wants, but she will come anyway.

That day, during my slumber, I wake with a full plan in place. August and I ride out in a black Ford truck to a tattoo parlor run by several Strigoi. Dimitri, while a Strigoi, was in league with the group. Surely they will know something of Dimitri that can help me get to him—and the Spirit users.

The town the Strigoi are set up in is seedy and I hiss at the dilapidated building that serves as their headquarters. We park several blocks away from it at and watch it for about an hour. No one exits or enters. Dark blinds are drawn over the windows and we can't see through them. There are no lights inside.

"Go," I tell August. He jerks and looks at me, red eyes darkening.

"But, Rose—"

"I said go!"

He quickly exits the truck and makes his way across the narrow street to the shop. August knocks on the door, but no one answers. He doesn't look my way, just breaks the door down. The old wood falls to the ground and gun shots ring out. August ducks out of the way just in time, the glass windows cracking and shattering.

I get out of the car.

August has sustained a shot in his chest. He rolls on the ground, grunting, but I ignore him and stand just out of the line of fire.

"Come out!" I yell, feeling the eyes of the ones inside on me. "Come out if you value your lives!"

"Are we speaking to Rose Hathaway?"

"No," I say unconvincingly. I don't want to play games with them. I need them to give me answers, not waste my time.

"Rose, Rose," I spin around. Riles peels out of the shadows of a neighboring building. I feel myself almost feel surprise and confusion. My frown deepens. "You really need to be careful about whose heads you pull off."

"That wasn't yours?" I ask and we begin to circle each other, totally forgetting about the tattoo Strigoi. I grin. "How unfortunate for me. How did you get away?" I actually don't care, but I figure it will distract him. He seems on edge.

"You weren't paying attention, as usual." That's all he says. I don't grace him with an answer. Riles continues on, "You should have seen Ivy, though. All weak and crumbly. She was crying, dammit."

"Could've been you," I remark.

"Could've been you, Rose." Riles smiles. "Or should I say Roza?"

August is on his feet again. _Get to the car. _I tell him.

"All of you… LEAVE!" yells Obadiah, the owner of the tattoo parlor. August is at the driver's side of the car in an instant. Then I hear his cry of shock as a silver stake enters his heart and kills him. I don't even move. I stay stock still, hands on my hips.

"You can come out now." I say and I hear little noises from an alleyway further down the street. Dimitri moves around the truck, his stake now glistening with ruby blood. A Subaru turns onto our street and Sydney Sage gets out, leaving the door open.

"Everyone in the car." Dimitri growls. She remains where she is. Even from where I am I can see her golden lily glittering in the fading light of the store fronts.

Lissa and Adrian come out of the alley, making their way to the Subaru. Ivy gets out of the passenger side and comes to the front of the car, holding her hands up in a motion of surrender. "Rose," she says softly. "You can't do anything. We have your surrounded."

"You look frail," I murmur, knowing she can hear the threat in my voice.

Ivy ignores me. "Rose, I know you've killed. I know you've massacred, but it's all over now. Just let it happen. Please. There's nothing you can do."

Sydney shifts and my trained eyes zero in on her. I hear her pulse skittering in her throat and grin wildly, savagely.

I whisper, "That's what you think."


End file.
